If you have a craniocervical junction disorder, you may receive treatment from a neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, or neurosurgeon. In addition, physiatrists and pain management specialists, along with physical therapists and occupational therapists, can help reduce pain and improve your quality of life.
At Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery and Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care, the doctors who specialize in craniocervical junction disorders are:
For pediatric patients or patients of any age with Chiari malformation-associated instability:
Jeffrey Greenfield. M.D., Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery in Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and a pediatric neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian with the combined service of Weill Cornell Medical Center and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Greenfield specializes in minimally invasive (endoscopic) pediatric neurosurgery as well as in the treatment of Chiari malformations, spasticity disorders, and hydrocephalus. (Read more about Dr. Greenfield.)
For adults:
Roger Härtl, M.D., is the Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of Spinal Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as Neurosurgical Director, Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is also the founder and director of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care as well as Weill Cornell Medicine's Global Neurosurgery Initiative in Tanzania. He focuses on simple and complex spine surgery for degenerative conditions, tumors, and trauma as well as biological approaches for disc repair and regeneration. He is a world-renowned pioneer and leader in minimally invasive spinal surgery and computer-assisted spinal navigation surgery and augmented reality. (More about Dr. Hartl)
Dr. Dan Riew is an internationally recognized expert in cervical spine disorders, with a practice dedicated entirely to the cervical spine. His patient roster includes celebrities, athletes, world leaders, and, most notably, other physicians who seek the very best for disorders of the cervical spine. Dr. Riew has advanced skills in both minimally invasive procedures that can be performed on an outpatient basis and complex revision surgeries and deformity corrections, and he has performed more surgical procedures on the cervical spine than almost any other surgeon in the world. (More about Dr. Riew)
Michael Virk, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified neurosurgeon with specialty training in minimally invasive and complex surgery for a wide variety of spine conditions. In addition to craniocervical junction disorders, his specialties include scoliosis, spinal tumors, trauma, degenerative disease, radiculopathy, herniated discs, and spinal stenosis. Dr. Virk uses state-of-the-art minimally invasive techniques with intraoperative, computer-assisted navigation as well as spinal endoscopy. He also uses fundamental, open surgical strategies in patients who will benefit most from these. (Read more about Dr. Virk)
Be sure to read these two amazing patient stories:
Our Mighty Little Giant: Bethany’s story
An Emotional Marathon: Caleb’s story
